The MaCAD is a unique online programme training a new generation of architects, engineers and designers ready to develop skills into the latest softwares, computational tools, BIM technologies and AI towards innovation for the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry.
Every great building begins as a small model and a messy desk Abstract As architects we spend hours making physical study models, cutting foam, assembling balsa, running the 3D printer. These models are essential, but the process is slow. Crafty Studio asks a simple question: “What if you could see your design as a physical … Read more
The promise of AI agents is compelling: systems that can sense their environment, plan strategically, take action, and learn from experience. But as organizations begin deploying these systems in production, a troubling reality emerges. The very capabilities that make AI agents powerful—their ability to reason, adapt, and solve novel problems—also make them frustratingly unpredictable. This … Read more
Intro This digital essay explores the growing trend of designing interior spaces for image consumption rather than functional use. This project investigates the consequences for public spaces when they are reshaped by the “economy of likes”. Drawing on Guy Debord’s Society of the Spectacle, the researchers argue that social relations are increasingly mediated through images, … Read more
Can Street Geometry Predict Urban Safety Risk? A machine-learning pipeline that classifies street morphology into risk typologies — from OpenStreetMap features to multi-city deployment, dead ends included. This post documents the full arc of our Urban Safety project — not just the results, but the reasoning, the wrong turns, and what we learned from them. … Read more
Mediterranean islands are crushed by tourism in July and August, and almost empty the rest of the year. So we asked what if generative AI could show people the ten months that already exist beyond those two? The goal was to make the off-season feel desirable, not as data, but as images you’d actually want … Read more
We have all been there. It is 3:00 AM, the competition deadline is looming, and you are trapped in an endless, soul-crushing loop of exporting from Rhino, tweaking vectors in Illustrator, and heavy post-processing in Photoshop. The repetitive grind of architectural representation can quickly lead to creative burnout. It is time to smash the old … Read more
ML-Driven Plant Placement for Adaptive Architecture BioSpatial Intelligence explores how machine learning can support planting decisions in architectural spaces. The project starts from a simple design question: when we design a building, how can we decide which plants belong to which environmental conditions? Instead of relying only on intuition, we developed a workflow that reads … Read more
Can we predict what kind of use does a city grid hosts — Commercial vs. Residential — from its built form, morphology, and proximity to other urban features? “Can we predict the land use of a space based on existing environmental information from official and unofficial sources?” What’s the sweet spot for a Machine Learning … Read more
Abstract Construction is responsible for a substantial share of global material waste and carbon emissions, and one of the reasons is structural: design, fabrication, and assembly are still treated as separate phases with fragmented handoffs between them. This podcast episode explores what changes when those phases are linked into a single, feedback-driven workflow where parametric … Read more
Program Voxels is a web-based parametric tool that automates building massing studies using cellular automata algorithms. Designed for architects and urban planners, the application intelligently distributes multiple building programmes within a user-defined boundary while respecting complex adjacency relationships. Built with Vue 3, Three.js, and Rhino Compute, the tool bridges visual programming with an intuitive web … Read more
In the Cloud-Based Data Management seminar, our final project explored how parametric design tools can move beyond the desktop and become accessible through the web. The course focused on transforming Grasshopper definitions into web-based applications using Rhino.Compute, Vue, and web visualization workflows, with the goal of making computational design more accessible to end users. This … Read more
Program Team Hyperbuilding 02 proposes a program-integrated transit hub that reorganizes fragmented mobility networks, shortens commute times, and anchors a high-density mixed-use urban core to improve accessibility and urban performance. The design concept for Hyperbuilding 02 begins with a problem: fragmented mobility networks that create inefficiency, congestion, and poor urban accessibility in high-density environments. Rather … Read more
Preliminary Study: Demography as Design Driver In Hyperbuilding 3, our focus was to understand how demographic data can actively inform architectural decisions. We started by analysing the Chilean census portal, which provides detailed information for the entire metropolitan region and specifically for the Providencia district. From this dataset, we looked at age distribution, household composition, … Read more
Built on Vue.js + Grasshopper + Rhino Compute This documentation presents the design, development, and technical implementation of a browser-based G-code slicer built as part of the Digital Tools for Cloud-based Data Management course at the IAAC Problem Statement Commercial 3D printing slicers, such as PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, and Ultimaker Cura, are designed as general-purpose … Read more
Explore HB03, a hyperbuilding developed through parametric design, structural engineering, and adaptive façade optimization. Discover a data-driven approach to sustainable vertical urbanism, daylight performance, and human-centric high-rise design. Introduction: Engineering the Skeleton of Vertical Urbanism In the Vertical Machine studio, architecture is treated as a dynamic urban organism rather than a static object. Within this … Read more
